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Gis fight for their Rights under the U.S. Constitution
THE NEW YORK TIMES, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 1971
Seizure of Antiwar Mail to G.I.'s Ordered in Vietnam
By RICHARD HALLORAN
SiKClal to Tht MM York Ttmoj
WASHINGTON, March "0—
A confidential Army directive
obtained from Vietnam shows
that Army commanders have
been ordered to intercept and
confiscate personal, first-class
mail containing antiwar or
other dissident publications
sent to soldiers there.
The teletyped message from
the Army headquarters in
Longbinh to all Army commanders in South Vietnam instructs that "such mail will not
be distributed to members of
the unit."
A spokesman for the Army
here confirmed the authenticity
of the message. He said the
policy was authorized under a
regulation for the Army in Vietnam that "encourages" soldiers
to report the receipt of mail
that is "inflammatory" or "critical of the military effort in
Vietnam."
A spokesman for the United
States Postal Service, however,
said the Government had no
authority to seize first-class
mail witihout a court order.
All Mail the Same
The courts, the postal
spokesman said, usually permit
interception of mail only when
the contents are judged to constitute a "clear and present
danger" to the security of the
United States.
He said that no distinction
was made between mail addressed to civilians and that
addressed to military personnel.
A department of the Army
letter entitled "Guidance on
Dissent," sent to all commands
in May, 1969, said that "a commander may not prevent distribution of a publication simply because he does not like
its contents."
The letter further said: "A
commander must have cogent
reasons, with supporting evidence, for any denial of distribution privileges. The fact
that a publication is critical—
even unfairly critical—of Government policies is not in itself
a grounds for denials."
An Army regulation dated
March 20, 1970 prohibits the
dissemination of dissident literature only when the Secretary
of the Army considers that it
"presents a clear danger to
the loyalty, discipline, or morale of troops."
The mail in question was
sent from the offices of the
G.I. Press Service here. It calls
itself The Associated Press of
G. I. Ungerground Papers and
is published by the Student Mobilization Committee to End
the War in Vietnam.
The letters, according to the
Army message dated May 22,
1970, contained an appeal asking soldiers in Vietnam to contribute all or part of a recent
pay rise to the peace movement. The mail also contained
lists of 55 antiwar newspapers
and 12 antiwar groups.
Robert Wilkinson, editor of
the G. I. Press Service, said
the letters had been addressed
to soldiers whose names had
J
'It doesn't exactly say, 'Make love, not war,1 but it
strongly (sniff) suggests it."
Reprinted by:
Vets for Peace in Vietnam
P. O. Box 4598
Chicago, 111. 60680
been taken from a mailing list
compiled by his organization.
He said that about 3,000 letters
had gone out in that particular mailing and that several
more mailings had been sent
earlier and one since then.
The Army dispatch said that
the return address on the envelope, which was used to
identify the letters, gave the
name of Allen Myers, former
editor of the G. I. Press Service,
and the street address of the
press service office here. Mr.
Wilkinson confirmed that.
The Army became aware of
the mailings, according to the
message, when the 525th Military Intelligence Group
intercepted an envelop bearing
Mr. Myer's return address and
from which the mailing label
had slipped off. Mr. Myers was
known to military intelligence
in Vietnam, having been barred
from entering the country by
the South Vietnamese police in
January, 1970.
That resulted in the teletyped
directive, which said the intercepted letter "serves to emphasize that anti-Vietnam war
groups are striving to mail dissident and subversive literature to unit mail clerks" in
Vietnam.
The message continued:
"Copies of the Apr. 70 issue.
Veterans Stars and Stripes for^^^
Peace, an antimilitary news «SWS
paper dedicated to ending the ^ ■
war in Vietnam, have als i been
received by USARV [United
States Army Vietnam] personnel.
"Among its features is an
ad by the G.I. Press Service
requesting soldiers sign and circulate a petition for immediate
withdrawal of troops from
Vietnam."
The directive concluded:
"Personal mail received, addressed -unit, mail clerk, will
be treated as being addressed
to CO. (commanding officer(
and delivered to the unit commander for disposition I.A.W.
[in accordance with) USARV
Regulation 380-8. Such mail
will not be distributed to members of the unit."
A spokesman for the Army
here, which queried the headquarters in Vietnam about the
message, said that regulation
380-8 "encourages personnel to
reort to their commanding officers the receipt of matter
which appears to be of inflammatory nature, or adverse to
or critical of the military effort in Vietnam, or a matter
of intelligence interest."
He said the directive to intercept G.I. Press Service mail
had been sent out because the
command in Vietnam evidently
considered the contents to fall
within the description of the
regulation.
He said the mail that included "unit mail clerk" in
the address was treated as if
it had been addressed to "occupant" or "resident" in civilian life in the United States.
But the headquarters in Saigon
did not deny that the mail was
personally addressed.
-—«. , ■
|Here's proof positive that the criminal brass, butchers of our servicemen and the people
of Vietnam alike, are trembling before the growing GI demands for peace and fear Veterans
Stars & Stripes for Peace beacause we stand with the GI's. Help us strike more terror in
Pentagon cirlces by sending us the address of every active-duty serviceman you can lay
hands on and enough money to get VS&SP out on a regular basis. Help the GI's end the war!!

Copyright belongs to the individuals who created them or the organizations for which they worked. We share them here strictly for non-profit educational purposes. If you believe that you possess copyright to material included here, please contact us at asklibrary@wisconsinhistory.org. Under the fair use provisions of the U.S. copyright law, teachers and students are free to reproduce any document for nonprofit classroom use. Commercial use of copyright-protected material is generally prohibited.

Copyright belongs to the individuals who created them or the organizations for which they worked. We share them here strictly for non-profit educational purposes. If you believe that you possess copyright to material included here, please contact us at asklibrary@wisconsinhistory.org. Under the fair use provisions of the U.S. copyright law, teachers and students are free to reproduce any document for nonprofit classroom use. Commercial use of copyright-protected material is generally prohibited.

Owner

Wisconsin Historical Society

Full text

Gis fight for their Rights under the U.S. Constitution
THE NEW YORK TIMES, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 1971
Seizure of Antiwar Mail to G.I.'s Ordered in Vietnam
By RICHARD HALLORAN
SiKClal to Tht MM York Ttmoj
WASHINGTON, March "0—
A confidential Army directive
obtained from Vietnam shows
that Army commanders have
been ordered to intercept and
confiscate personal, first-class
mail containing antiwar or
other dissident publications
sent to soldiers there.
The teletyped message from
the Army headquarters in
Longbinh to all Army commanders in South Vietnam instructs that "such mail will not
be distributed to members of
the unit."
A spokesman for the Army
here confirmed the authenticity
of the message. He said the
policy was authorized under a
regulation for the Army in Vietnam that "encourages" soldiers
to report the receipt of mail
that is "inflammatory" or "critical of the military effort in
Vietnam."
A spokesman for the United
States Postal Service, however,
said the Government had no
authority to seize first-class
mail witihout a court order.
All Mail the Same
The courts, the postal
spokesman said, usually permit
interception of mail only when
the contents are judged to constitute a "clear and present
danger" to the security of the
United States.
He said that no distinction
was made between mail addressed to civilians and that
addressed to military personnel.
A department of the Army
letter entitled "Guidance on
Dissent" sent to all commands
in May, 1969, said that "a commander may not prevent distribution of a publication simply because he does not like
its contents."
The letter further said: "A
commander must have cogent
reasons, with supporting evidence, for any denial of distribution privileges. The fact
that a publication is critical—
even unfairly critical—of Government policies is not in itself
a grounds for denials."
An Army regulation dated
March 20, 1970 prohibits the
dissemination of dissident literature only when the Secretary
of the Army considers that it
"presents a clear danger to
the loyalty, discipline, or morale of troops."
The mail in question was
sent from the offices of the
G.I. Press Service here. It calls
itself The Associated Press of
G. I. Ungerground Papers and
is published by the Student Mobilization Committee to End
the War in Vietnam.
The letters, according to the
Army message dated May 22,
1970, contained an appeal asking soldiers in Vietnam to contribute all or part of a recent
pay rise to the peace movement. The mail also contained
lists of 55 antiwar newspapers
and 12 antiwar groups.
Robert Wilkinson, editor of
the G. I. Press Service, said
the letters had been addressed
to soldiers whose names had
J
'It doesn't exactly say, 'Make love, not war,1 but it
strongly (sniff) suggests it."
Reprinted by:
Vets for Peace in Vietnam
P. O. Box 4598
Chicago, 111. 60680
been taken from a mailing list
compiled by his organization.
He said that about 3,000 letters
had gone out in that particular mailing and that several
more mailings had been sent
earlier and one since then.
The Army dispatch said that
the return address on the envelope, which was used to
identify the letters, gave the
name of Allen Myers, former
editor of the G. I. Press Service,
and the street address of the
press service office here. Mr.
Wilkinson confirmed that.
The Army became aware of
the mailings, according to the
message, when the 525th Military Intelligence Group
intercepted an envelop bearing
Mr. Myer's return address and
from which the mailing label
had slipped off. Mr. Myers was
known to military intelligence
in Vietnam, having been barred
from entering the country by
the South Vietnamese police in
January, 1970.
That resulted in the teletyped
directive, which said the intercepted letter "serves to emphasize that anti-Vietnam war
groups are striving to mail dissident and subversive literature to unit mail clerks" in
Vietnam.
The message continued:
"Copies of the Apr. 70 issue.
Veterans Stars and Stripes for^^^
Peace, an antimilitary news «SWS
paper dedicated to ending the ^ ■
war in Vietnam, have als i been
received by USARV [United
States Army Vietnam] personnel.
"Among its features is an
ad by the G.I. Press Service
requesting soldiers sign and circulate a petition for immediate
withdrawal of troops from
Vietnam."
The directive concluded:
"Personal mail received, addressed -unit, mail clerk, will
be treated as being addressed
to CO. (commanding officer(
and delivered to the unit commander for disposition I.A.W.
[in accordance with) USARV
Regulation 380-8. Such mail
will not be distributed to members of the unit."
A spokesman for the Army
here, which queried the headquarters in Vietnam about the
message, said that regulation
380-8 "encourages personnel to
reort to their commanding officers the receipt of matter
which appears to be of inflammatory nature, or adverse to
or critical of the military effort in Vietnam, or a matter
of intelligence interest."
He said the directive to intercept G.I. Press Service mail
had been sent out because the
command in Vietnam evidently
considered the contents to fall
within the description of the
regulation.
He said the mail that included "unit mail clerk" in
the address was treated as if
it had been addressed to "occupant" or "resident" in civilian life in the United States.
But the headquarters in Saigon
did not deny that the mail was
personally addressed.
-—«. , ■
|Here's proof positive that the criminal brass, butchers of our servicemen and the people
of Vietnam alike, are trembling before the growing GI demands for peace and fear Veterans
Stars & Stripes for Peace beacause we stand with the GI's. Help us strike more terror in
Pentagon cirlces by sending us the address of every active-duty serviceman you can lay
hands on and enough money to get VS&SP out on a regular basis. Help the GI's end the war!!